It has been 13 years since the FDA has approved a new drug for weight loss.

Belviq, the Arena Pharmaceuticals drug which also goes by the generic name lorcaserin, is one of three new potential weight-loss treatments to be approved.

The drug works by activating a receptor in the brain that may help a person eat less and feel full after eating smaller amounts of food.
It is approved for use in obese adults with a body mass index or BMI of 30 or greater and in overweight adults with a BMI of 27 or greater if they have at least one weight-related condition such as high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes or high cholesterol. For example, a 5-foot-7 woman who weighed 192 pounds would have a BMI of 30.

Patients who do not lose 5 percent of their body weight within 12 weeks of taking the pill will be advised to discontinue use of the drug.

It is important that patients achieve “clinically meaningful weight loss” as cardiovascular risks including heart attack and stroke may be a consideration.

This is a small victory for consumers who, finally aware of the dangers of high fructose corn syrup, will continue to be able to identify it in the products they buy.

Michael M. Landa, director of the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition at the F.D.A., denied the petition, saying that the term “sugar” is used only for food “that is solid, dried and crystallized.”

“HFCS is an aqueous solution sweetener derived from corn after enzymatic hydrolysis of cornstarch, followed by enzymatic conversion of glucose (dextrose) to fructose,” the letter stated. “Thus, the use of the term ‘sugar’ to describe HFCS, a product that is a syrup, would not accurately identify or describe the basic nature of the food or its characterizing properties.”

The Corn Refiners Association is afraid that consumers will avoid the product, which has received a bad reputation, under the pretext of “false information”, namely that corn syrup is natural and is the same as sugar.

The fact is that it is NOT natural , it is manufactured in a lab and can harm to people who can not properly metabolize the ingredient.

And further, to argue that HFCS is the same as sugar only calls into question the efficacy of sugar in the human diet.

There are many who would postulate that there already exists an overabundance of sugar which is causing obesity and Type 2 diabetes in epidemic proportions.

Everything you needed to know about sunscreen with guidelines from the FDA.

The news has been confusing in the past but the FDA is offering new rules to ensure that we get the protection we need and the protection level we pay for.

The FDA announced that it is giving sunscreen manufactures six months to comply with regulations meaning that the changes won’t be in stores this summer.

Key fixes: Sunscreens will be labeled “water resistant” (as opposed to waterproof or sweatproof); they can no longer be called “sunblocks” (as it overstates their effectiveness); and they can no longer claim to provide instant sun protection or to last more than two hours without reapplication.
On top of that, sunscreens can be labeled “broad spectrum” only if they protect equally against UVB (the main culprit of skin cancer) and UVA rays, which cause aging.

Read the whole article for advice from dermatologists.

Weight loss drug lorcaserin was given approval by the FDA and will be marketed under the brand name Lorgress.

The panelists decided that the benefits of the weight loss drug outweigh the risks for severely obese patients.

The panel included specialists in obesity and diabetes, pediatric endocrinologists, cardiologists and toxicologists.
According to Arena Pharmaceuticals, which developed the drug, Lorqess “behaves as an appetite suppressant which helps patients lose weight by essentially causing them to feel less hunger sensations.”

BPA has been found to be linked to obesity.

Bisphenol A is toxic and dangerous and so pervasive that it shows up in the urine of 93% of Americans over the age of 6 years.

The ubiquitous abundance of this organic compound is found in everything from the lining of cans to water bottles and a myriad of plastic products used by consumers everyday.

Aside from obesity concerns of BPA contamination include cancers and autoimmune diseases.

“During the development of the fetus, BPA exposure alters the development of stem cells,” vom Saal, a professor at the University of Missouri, said. “Think of it as tripping a switch in the DNA. BPA turns out to be a major factor in the number of fat cells that a person will have later in life.”

Critics label BPA an “endocrine disruptor” that acts like synthetic estrogen and link it to a wide range of ailments, including cancer. But its scientific defenders — as well as regulatory agencies in the United States, Australia, the European Union, Japan, and New Zealand — say there is no evidence that the minuscule exposure that consumers receive poses a health risk.

Although FDA approved the agency now recognizes “reason for concern” for the affects on fetuses and children.